Seaplane Crash: Flipped Upside Down
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It's just after 6.30 p.m. on Monday, the 19th of May, 2025. The pale, milky sky above Western Canada is streaked with clouds, broken occasionally by slanted shafts of sunlight. In British Columbia, nestled between Vancouver Island and the rugged coast of the mainland, a handful of smaller, sparsely inhabited landmasses lie scattered like discarded jigsaw pieces across the cold, gray sea. The air is crisp and cool, the glassy surface of the water flat and undisturbed. Then a sound breaks the quiet, the low drone of an engine. Soaring over this pretty patchwork of land and water is a small red and white seaplane, moving with surprise and grace despite its bulky landing floats. Inside, Desiree and Marco Kruthoff, a Dutch couple in their 50s, drink in the beautiful scenery sprawling out below them as their pilot indicates various points of interest.
In the seat beside the pilot, Desiree's right hand fidgets in her lap, whilst the fingertips of her left hand dig nervously into the back of the pilot's seat. She is trying to relax and enjoy the trip, but a ripple of unease is running through her.
I was scared. I put my arm around the chair of the pilot and I know that I was telling myself, don't squeeze too much.
About 10 minutes into the flight, the pilot gestures towards the first landing point on their journey, a small bay known as Refuge Cove on West Redonda Island. Shortly afterwards, he begins their descent. In the back of the cabin, Marco is filming the entire experience on his phone, keen to record this memorable trip. As it turns out, it's about to become very memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.
Down, down, we touched the water, and the first touch was very hard. What I thought is, come on, pilot, you can do better. That's a little bit clumsy of you.
The aircraft lurches as the floats strike the water with a fierce smack, the impact reverberating through the small cabin. At the same moment, a gust of wind seems to come from nowhere, yanking the plane back up and disrupting its delicate equilibrium. knuckles white the pilot tries to re-stabilize the craft his face grim with concentration the engine winds as he applies full power trying to guide the plane into the air again so he can circle back and attempt another landing but even as he wrestles with the controls the floats slap against the water once more and the aircraft bounces making everyone's stomach somersault With increasing desperation, the pilot tries to regain command of the small seaplane.
But it's no use. Seconds later, the aircraft collides with the water for a third and final time, suddenly tilting as its left wing cleaves the smooth surface of the sea. There is no coming back from it.
I saw the wing hitting the water. And at that moment, the pilot yelled something and then we were flipping over and I was telling to myself, this can't be real.
Never wondered what you would do when disaster strikes. If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives. In this episode, we meet Marco and Desiree Kruthoff. In May 2025, the hardworking Dutch couple book an extended holiday to Canada. They hope to reconnect with each other and to take some time to decide what the next phase of their lives should look like now that their children have left home. But all plans are thrown out of the window when, just days into their holiday, the seaplane they've booked for a sightseeing trip crashes into the icy waters off the coast of British Columbia.
When he touched the water again, I thought, stop the plane. This is not so good. And then I heard that he screamed. And I didn't know what he said, but I heard a scream. And then he flipped over.
Trapped inside the flooded cabin of the small plane, Desiree and Marco must work together to escape the swiftly sinking wreckage before they run out of air or are overcome by the freezing temperature of the water.
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